The Brother Who Left
by animeisalltome
Summary: Percy Weasley, branded with the name The Brother Who Left, is ridiculed and hated by all of his employees. What happens when he meets Audrey? Will she have the courage to break down the walls of brick known as Percy?
1. Audrey

Disclaimer: I don't own HP- JK Rowling does.

A/N: I'm sorry the beginning is kind of rushed. I hope you like this. It's set 4 years after the final battle revolved around Percy's life. Please review. Tried to make the paragraphs smaller.

Percy Weasley understood that his life was bad. He had understood since the day his brother died before he could properly repent. He had understood since Ron, his youngest brother, wrote his autobiography. He had understood since he read said autobiography and realized that "based on true events" meant not leaving out ANY of the details, or names. He had understood when he walked in to work one day and was greeted by a coworker as 'The Brother Who Left'.

Ron thought it was hilarious. Coined from Percy's departure from his family and used several times to replace his name in the book, the nickname stuck like glue. Spawning from a collaborative brain storm session with George who at the time still held a small grudge, Ron had agreed to the name and attempted a lame attempt at humor in the family's time of mourning. Hermione, his ghostwriter so to speak, agreed vehemently on this name. They all thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world as Percy hunched in the corner and managed a small fake smile. They thought nothing of it, the book wasn't suppossed to be published anyway. Then a publisher disagreed. After just 6 months the book had surprisingly soared to the top selling list, every single witch or wizard with the ability to see had read it. Most more than once.

One day as Percy scanned the aisles in Flourish and Blott's, he noticed a young woman staring at him. Flattered with the attention ,he started to walk over to her. Before he knew it, there was a flash of red light and he felt strong wings of some sort beating his body. He had been hit with a Bat-Bogey Hex.

"You frickin' deserted them. You deserve that, Brother Who Left," The witch said stomping away with another round of swear words. He stared after her in shock, he hadn't done anything and yet he had been hit with a harmful spell like a Death Eater. Percy realized it then that his life was miserable.

* * *

Percy sighed as he passed by a muggle movie theater when walked to the ministry one Thursday morning. It was an ugly day, the mist played with his hair. The natural curls around his head frizzed and he kept tugging at the ends. He very rarely was concerned about his look but today was different. Last night due to a missed step, Percy had broken his famous horn rimmed glasses. Ok, so maybe they weren't prescription but how was he to maintain his professional appearance now? He tried not to let the successive bad happenings ruin his whole day but it was hard not to seem so bummed. He walked briskly towards the entrance ignoring the catcalls of subordinate workers.

"Percy!" He heard someone yell. Of course he didn't turn around. It was probably someone else coming to congratulate him on his budding movie career.

"Listen, buddy, I didn't give the movie rights. I get it, I don't exactly look like John Year." Percy said angrily. Of course his little brother's book had to be made into a movie. And of course Percy had to be played by John Year, who had one of the top ten-beach body's and had also been in two sex scandals that year. The resemblance was zero practically in the negatives and he was the object of teasing on a daily basis.

"Percy, it's just me," Percy turned around finally to come face to face with his brother in law. Harry Potter. He was the source of all this mess, thought Percy bitterly. If it wasn't for him, Ron would have never been able to write an interesting autobiography and in turn Percy wouldn't be branded with that awful nickname. But still after 4 years, Percy sucked up his pride and acted pleasant toward Harry.

"How are you, Harry? Any news about the baby?" Percy inquired politely. Just think of the scandal when he entered the office! The director of International Magic Cooperation talking with a high class Auror, people would be running home to check to see if their families were all right!

"Ginny's great. The baby's a-kicking away. The doctor says it's any day now. I know your busy and all, Perc, but you should come over to dinner at Molly's. The last time you came was months ago!" Harry said in a dignified matter. Normally Percy would have bristled up at the nickname but now he only felt regret. He had thought once or twice about going for an impromptu dinner at his mother's but had pushed the idea aside. He was much too busy. He had people to monitor, problems to solve. Everyday was different to him, always something to be done. Percy loved it though; he loved working hard and getting rewarded. The worst days at work were when the world seemed at peace. He hated that; he spent the whole day sitting at his desk doing nothing.

This seemed to be one of these days he realized as he walked into his office. He sat at his desk, waiting for the first assignment of the day. Usually after going home for the night he was greeted to 6 or 7 notes waiting on his desk. But today there was none. He peered curiously on the sleek mahogany staring back at him with no parchment in sight. He quickly got up and walked down the hall.

"Neil, any owls?" He said asking his assistant. Neil, a young lad, peered at him with an annoyed look.

"Were they're any on your desk?" He said in a bored tone.

"No, silly, they don't allow owls into the ministry," Percy exclaimed. One would have thought that the temp who'd been working here for three years would have known.

"Exactly," Neil said peering around on his desk ignoring Percy completely. He left in a hurry with a frown. He and Neil had never gotten along even though they had been working alongside each other for some time. His assistant never did anything; he took hours for lunch and he never paid any respect to his superiors. Though his work was always flawless. Always were the completed papers on his desk at the correct time. Although Percy had yet to prove it, but he knew Neil must have had help from someone.

Percy had about 20 people under him officially. As he walked through his subordinate's desks and into his office, he ignored the sniggering. He specifically heard someone says 'glasses' and 'self conscious'. From the sanction of his office, he completed his own research paper. _Why no one should buy The Golden Trio's merchandise_. Of course he had finished his work for the next 3 months in one night. He wished he hadn't been proactive as he waited for something to do as he flipped through The Daily Prophet. Lower ranks constantly came to his office for advice yet today all was silent. He wondered if it was some sort of conspiracy.

Percy sat in his desk staring at his blank walls after he'd finished proofreading and perfecting his essay. He only had one picture in all of his office. It was of his family on the trip to Egypt in the summer before his seventh year. They waved at him smiling and Percy wore a genuine smile. He always smiled with a real smile with his family.

He knew he screwed up when he had worked in the Ministry, yet it was hard to put away his pride. Even now he felt like he was to be blamed for Fred's death four years ago, though no one would ever mention it. George though hardly looked into his older brother's eyes. He would never admit it but Percy knew that George put some blame on his older brother's shoulders.

Despite the occasional lunch during work with his father, the only other family member he talked to was Bill. Bill didn't blame, even when Percy looked into his older brother's eyes there was no faultfindings. The only downside to visiting his brother so often at Shell Cottage was the fact that he was married.

Percy had always disliked Fleur, not as bad as Ginny had, but just because of the way she coddled her husband. Fleur was always touching Bill. Percy would try and have a private conversation with his brother but Phlegm was always standing there listening expectantly.

And when Victoire was born, it was twice as bad. The child was as worse as her mother, always wanting attention. She screamed and cried, but Fleur paid no attention to her daughter as she listened to they're conversation. As Victoire began to walk she was just like her mother. She was silent and listened as if her uncle was the next victim of her gossiping. Of course being that she was only three, she couldn't gossip that much. But now as

Percy paced his room waiting for any sort of paper airplane or a knock on his door by a frightened coworker, his mind was not focusing on work at all. Percy didn't mean to act mean towards his colleagues, but when he was in a bad mood, he was anything but pleasant. Truth be told, he always seemed to be in a bad mood. Of course he squinted his eyes as he passed by his coworkers that day, his eyes had become adjusted to his glasses was all. Of course he would get mad if the work was not done. Why couldn't they see that? He opened his door a slit to look at the people working; they were all silent working independently. Maybe he would try to be nice.

When his father didn't come up for lunch sometimes, Percy did try to mingle with his coworkers but everyone seemed to be laughing at him behind his back. In fact he was fairly certain they were laughing at him. He had once slipped into the break room unnoticed to hear them discussing Percy's latest frenzy. They had laughed over a man's impression of him. Percy was deeply hurt by this. He didn't even like interacting with his associates anymore. Why would he bother being friendly when he was just a running joke? Percy had searched several textbooks trying to find out why he hadn't been able to keep any friends. He was a friendly person when given the chance, he was hard working, and although no one had ever said it Percy felt confident about his looks.

Then suddenly he spied it. His eyes slipped to a creature so beautifully visible through the crack of the door made Percy let out an audible gasp. Several people near the door turned and stared at him. He shut the door and returned to pacing. Who was she? Her brown hair and pale white skin seemed angelic even. Her eyes had been a shocking green beneath long black eyelashes.

Why was she here in this office? Percy shook any fantasy that was creeping into his head away. She must just be the wife of one of the people who had made fun of him. She had come to tell her husband how she had just bought a new big house where they could raise their brood of ignorant children. They would laugh and hug as money rained from the sky. How dare he! Percy thought indignantly. He shouldn't even be having visitors until lunch! Although Percy let this rule slip several times this mystery man with no face would be persecuted at all costs. Percy had already placed his hand on the doorknob when he remembered it was all hypothetical.

Lunchtime came and Percy who had been looked in his office since peeking out, a punishment for letting his imagination run wild, had seen no sight of the mystery woman. He drearily took out his poorly made sandwich and began to nibble. How nice would it be to have a lunch made by a caring wife, Percy thought. Percy, whom everyone assumed was so focused into his work, wanted nothing more than having a girlfriend.

Since Penelope, Percy had not gone out with anyone else. He received news that she had died in the war three months after the final battle. Although Percy had ended the relationship ended in their seventh year, they had still been on speaking terms. And now she was dead. Percy couldn't count on his hands the number of people he had lost.

Although friends would be nice, after several other catastrophic bullying events Percy decided that he couldn't be a boss and be liked. So what if Harry was a boss and liked by all? Or what if Heather who led Department of Magical Accident and Catastrophes had managed to receive an individual birthday card from every single one of her coworkers? On Percy's birthday all he'd received was a box of chocolates from his Mum. Of course the card was signed 'From, the family. Come and visit!' but he doubted anyone of his siblings even remembered him. He took another bite of his pathetic sandwich and a sip of his week old water. It tasted miserably like plastic. And backwash.

He heard a knock on his door. His father must have been there. He quickly ran over to the door. His father and he only had lunch once or twice a week; the other days were spent for his father having lunch with Ron and Harry. He looked forward to his visits from his father. He got caught up with news of his family. His father was the second person in his family who liked him. Although they hadn't always gotten along, their relationship had reformed almost completely. They laughed during these lunches and talked about inside jokes relating to work. He had forgotten how much he and his father were alike. Of course Percy wasn't as fanatic about muggle things as his father, but they did like the same music. There humor was quite similar too. The both laughed over a joke that could be compared to the Sahara desert.

He opened the door quickly and almost fell back in shock. It wasn't his father at all; in fact the person standing at his door looked nothing like his father and for this Percy was grateful. Standing in front of him was the beauty he had seen when he been spying through the door. He had to cover his eyes slightly to see past the light that seemed to be shining over her. Her angelic round face seemed perfectly flawless. Her body had curves that she seemed all too happy to embrace. His brown hair curled down her back in waves and reminded Percy of the color of the gravy his mother always made for Christmas dinners. Her perfectly round lips moved and formed words that Percy couldn't catch. He tried to tear his eyes away from her and hear what she was saying. His gaze fell to the ground and immediately his ears cleared.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that," Percy said embarrassed. What if she had been informing him of a fire? That would have been a safety hazard.

"No, I didn't say anything. I was just moving my mouth to trick you," Said a voice like honey. It drizzled down and filled every ounce of his being.

"Oh," Percy said dumbly. 'Oh'? That was all he could say? He mentally kicked himself.

"I'm sorry to bother you Mr. Weasley, but there seems to be two people having sex in the supply closet." Her voice sounded oddly sarcastic. Percy just stared at her.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't quite catch that last part," Percy said rubbing his ears just to prove his point.

"What? The part about the about being sorry to bother you or the part about the two people shagging in the supply closet?" She asked, the sarcasm now fully apparent.

"The second part," He said and dashed out of the doorway heading towards to the supply closet. Judging by the loud clacks of the high heels behind him, he figured that mysterious gravy lady was following him. Suddenly he got a queasy feeling in his stomach. What if she was joking with him? What if this was all some ploy to make fun of him again? People looked up from their desks as the couple passed. Eventually Percy made it to the supply closet, conveniently put in the back of the office. He could distinctly hear moaning sounds coming. He knew then that he was not being joked with. He knocked loudly with no answer. He heard a squeal and shuffling. "Alohomora," He whispered trying to catch them before they dissapparated away. He heard the lock click open and he closed his eyes as he opened the door. There stood a woman dressed hurriedly, Heather, he knew, from Department of Magical Accident and Catastrophes. The man with an unbuttoned t-shirt was a colleague that worked in his department, who he knew for a fact, was married. He had a cocky grin on his face completely opposite from Heather's guilty one.

"Gary," He said addressing the half naked man, "You're fired for misconduct in the work place. Please gather your things and leave the premises." The man's grin turned to a frown. From there his eyebrows furrowed. Rage crossed his face and he threw up his hands.

"You can't fire me! I'm the best you've got!" He started. Percy nodded, not caring. Gary was always the leader of the bullies. Percy beamed. Now there was a perfect excuse to fire him! "It's not my fault you can't get any. Maybe if you weren't a virgin maybe you would understand. Half of the people here think you're gay! Nobody would ever want to screw the Brother Who Left!" Gary said knowing now that the fight was futile. He however in the process wanted to inflict some kind of pain on Percy. He seemed unfazed though and as Gary stalked from the niche muttering cuss words. Percy turned towards Heather who had broken into sobs.

"Heather, I cannot fire you. But I will report this, do you understand?" He said softly. He had always liked her. She had waved to him on the occasional mornings when they rode the elevator together. Now she had gone and screwed it all up. "He's scum, Heather. You could do better than that. Go clean yourself off and return to the third floor where you belong." Percy's voice was even gentler. Maybe he was letting her off a little too easy? She scampered away sobbing. But really whom would it hurt if he accidentally "forgot" to turn in the report?

He stood silent. Was that really what everyone thought about him? He sighed and shook his head. It was a wonder they all hated him. Well, he had got what he'd wanted, for something to happen. He hung his head and began to walk back towards his office. It was only until he heard a clicking sound behind him did he turn around. He came face to face with the woman who had taken his breath away just hours ago. "Sorry you had to see that," He said smiling sheepishly. He must have seemed like a dictator to her. She was probably so disgusted with him she had daintily vomited in the trash bin next to the copier machine. Just the thought made Percy upset. He already had no hope with the woman who had smiled so softly.

"No. See I was sitting here over by the copier machine trying to copy a book report, when I had noticed that the copier was almost out of the ink. I try and do a good deed by refilling it and end up getting someone fired," She said smiling big. It was as if she was almost pleased with the prospect of getting someone fired. The smiled that Percy unconsciously returned was suddenly turned befuddled.

"I'm sorry. But who are you?" Percy said unable to hide a bit of rudeness. Why was she in his office in the first place? Was she one of those assassins that seduces you first?

"I'm so sorry!" The woman said placing a hand over her mouth. No ring, Percy mentally said. "I'm Audrey. Audrey Brinkman."

A/N: OOOOOO! A cliffhanger! Now that's unheard of! Please review!


	2. Born Again

Disclaimer: I don't own. Period.

A/N: Smaller paragraphs? Review please!

"Audrey Brinkman?" Percy said gaping. She couldn't be related to Adviser to the Minister? No, she couldn't be!

Brinkman was a common name, right? Gregory Brinkman was only the highest spot you could get in the Ministry besides the Minister himself. He controlled everything. He could fire someone with the blink of an eye and give him or her a life sentence life sentence in Azkaban with the snap of his fingers. Personally Percy had never met him. The person he reported up to was the Undersecretary and he reported up to the Adviser. They had no conflicting schedules whatsoever but the way people talked about him he felt as if Gregory Brinkman could already hate him. Of course he had seen the Adviser around, big tall and muscular with a menacing stare. Everything needed to scare the shit out of anybody. Especially Percy.

"Oh stop," He heard Audrey's voice say and he came crashing back to reality. "It's my mother most people are afraid of. Daddy just puts on that façade to scare people." She said confirming his suspicions.

He just stared. Now he most certainly felt worthless in her eyes. Why was someone so beautiful, and mostly likely rich, doing talking to him? "Your probably what I'm doing here still. I work at a muggle elementary school, see? I teach 6th grade and so I needed to copy a quiz. I have 24 students in my class and so since this week in spring break in the muggle world, I have to copy them for Monday. I have been in and out of the Ministry for the past 4 years and I always use Daddy's copier. But he was using it so I jumped on the elevator and I jammed the button number five and decided to use this one. I know it's selfish. But 5 seems like such a friendly number. It's got that delicate curve at the bottom but it's tough too with the intersecting lines on top." She said and smiled. Percy looked on in shock. She was apologizing to him?  
"No, really I'm sorry. I should have been looking after my staff." He said shuffling his feet. Percy had never felt comfortable around the opposite sex and now he was extremely nervous. Her status and her beauty threw him off his feet and he didn't know what to say.

"You seem nice, Mr. Weasley. Do you want to eat lunch together?" Audrey said.

He hadn't known how it happened. How was it that now he sat across from the prettiest woman he's ever seen? How was it that his incomprehensible groan was mistaken for a 'yes'? Percy's eyes were as large as saucers as Audrey grabbed his hand and apparated them out of the Ministry an hour before.

"I don't understand," He finally managed to say after a few minutes. Audrey set down her menu and looked at him, her green eyes sparkling.

"Here's what it is, Weasley. I know your going to think I'm crazy. In fact I think I am too but, Weasley, here goes. I love you. There I said it," Audrey said with a dramatic gesture. She sighed and looked at Percy with a smile. Percy didn't know how to take this. After being the object of teasing for the last years, Percy knew she was joking. But there is such a thing as love at first sight right? The probability of any part of her confession being true was slim. As the middle child Percy knew when someone was "yanking his chain". He shook the notion out of his head. If she wanted to joke, he could joke too.

"Oh darling! How could we have lived apart for so long! We must be married at sunset!" Percy said uncharacteristically jumping up from the table and rushing to her side. Several people stared while he heard someone whistle. He grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. He suddenly felt the devilish rush he always felt when playing with his brothers. Audrey however seemed surprised that Percy had caught onto the joke.

"Your good," Audrey said obviously impressed. "I would have said that to anyone else and they would have stood in front of an 18 wheeler for me." She smiled and took a sip of her drink. An automatic smile went on Percy's face. He wiped it off quickly. How could he have acted so unprofessional! He blushed but Audrey seemed unfazed.

"Weasley, tell me. What about you? You married? I'm looking for a good shag and I was wondering if we could go to the bathroom together and be clear of my conscience," Audrey said staring. Before Percy had time to stop himself an answer was slipping out of his mouth.

"Sorry, darling, I've already got three wives. I wouldn't mind a fourth though," He said and blushed again. This is what he got for hanging out with Fred and George growing up. Audrey immediately broke out into a huge smile. "I'm not usually like this," He said truthfully as their lunch was set in front of them. "Usually it takes me hours to come up with a good comeback and by then the time has already past." His nervousness was now gone when he looked at Audrey. Her carefree ways made her easy to be with. They ate their lunch in silence. Percy wanted to remain professional yet it was distracting when Audrey would giggle whenever their eyes met. They split the check.

"I'll see you around," Audrey said kissing Percy's cheek as she got off the elevator. He was surprised at the closeness as her soft lips touched his cheek. He blushed a deep red, hating that as a redhead he was prone to get red faced at the drop of a hat. Audrey smiled and stalked away. He tried to keep his eyes up as she walked away but his eyes were on her shapely thighs and round…

"Level 5: Department of International Magical Cooperation."

That night for the first time in three months Percy went to his family's house for dinner. Suddenly the thought of sitting alone to eat his sad ramen noodles didn't appeal to him.

"Percy!" His mother said rushing to embrace him. The other members of the family reached to embrace him as well. Hermione gave him a quick squeeze while Ginny couldn't get her arms around her growing stomach. George's eyes didn't look like they showed anger anymore only mischief. He been accepted in a way he had never even thought possible. They sat down for dinner and Percy ate more than he had had in months.

Time passed quickly. Percy although hoping in the back of his mind to see Audrey each day, she never came. He went through his work in a robotic manner. It seemed like he didn't even like his work anymore. It was ridiculous. How could Percy, who had always wanted to be Minister of Magic, not give 100%? The more Percy thought about things the less he even wanted to become Minister. Certain types of people, although he was a great Minister, hated Kingsley. He received death threats on a daily basis. Percy, always ready to please, didn't want death threats. He wanted a job that could support him and his eventual family. He wanted a job where he had friends.

The thought of raising children was strange to him in the past. Of course he wanted kids, but to do that you needed a wife, and to have wife someone would have to talk to him. The only people who talked to him nowadays were Heather, who was butt kissing to the extreme, and his family. With that he didn't think was legal. Mum had no trouble mentioning this to him at every dinner they had together.

"Dear when I was your age I had already had three children with the fourth and fifth on the way," She had told him the night before over peas and carrots.

Since visiting the week before Percy came home with his father everyday after work and they headed home together. It wasn't until the next week on Friday that the cycle was broken. This time Percy ate his dinner in the maternity ward at St. Mungo's. Ginny had gone into labor with her first child. This thought struck Percy as utterly foreign. Of course he had knew his sister was pregnant why did it seem so weird now? Was it because she was so young? She was only 20. Sweet young Ginny was already starting an adventure of her own. He remembered the first time he had seen Ginny, all pink with a scrunched up face. He hated the baby who cried all the time. The thought of the pretty redhead that replaced the chubby baby made Percy suddenly felt like an old bachelor.

"I bet you 20 dollars that sucker comes out with a lighting scar and glasses," George said to no one in particular. Bill sat next to his father on the couch yet neither accepted the petty bet. They were all surprised as Hermione, who stood next to Ron, spoke up.

"Make it 30," she piped and we all burst into laughter. Unfortunately Hermione lost her bet to George. Little James Sirius although not bearing a scar or glasses came out with a surprising amount of unruly black locks.

"I've never seen so much hair on a baby before!" The doctor exclaimed.

"How long have you been doing this?" Percy asked politely.

"2 days… but still," The doctor responded flustered as she whisked herself out of the room.

He swore he would never forget the moment he got to hold his first nephew. He hadn't held Victoire when she was born. Fleur had her in her mother's house in France. Percy had even seen his little niece until she was a month old. She had already opened her eyes and was ready to take on the world. But this baby was different. He was so small, wrapped in a yellow blanket. His eyes were opened a crack and his hand were curled into fists.

"Hi, James, I'm your Uncle Percy," He told his nephew, suddenly aware of his mother's gaze. "Um… I'll probably be your least favorite uncle," Percy said softly shifting the small baby in his arms.

"Don't say that!" Ginny yelled from the bed. "He might believe you." He heard George laugh when Ron whispered, "It's true." Percy shifted away from his brother in law's gaze. Harry was already hovering over Percy waiting to get his new baby into his arms again.

"Uncle Bill will tell all about his scrape with a werewolf. Uncle Charlie will tell you about how he once wrestled a dragon. Uncle George will tell you about another uncle you never got to meet. Uncle Ron will tell you all about he went hunting for horcruxes… but the only I can tell you is how I left," Percy said. Suddenly it was only he and his nephew. There wasn't anyone else in his room. What would he be able to tell this child? What stories would this child want to hear? Would he tell him that he couldn't save his own brother? The gaze he would receive from this little guy would never reach the adoration his brother's would get.

"Oh Percy," He heard his mother say. He gave the baby back to the father. His mother had tears in her eyes and everyone else got unusually quiet. His father's eyes were on the ground and Ginny was loudly sobbing. The rest just stared at him as if he had grown an extra head.

"I need to the use the restroom," He said escaping from the room. They were drowning him with their looks. He tore down the halls and apparated outside the hospital. He looked at the abandoned store. After a few seconds, he heard a distant pop and George materialized a few feet away from him.

"I think I splinched half of my eyebrow," His brother said smiling. Sure enough, one red eyebrow was only half there. Percy mumbled an incantation and his brother's eyebrow re-grew. The stayed silent as they watched muggles pass. "Why do you talk like that? We don't blame you for anything." George said breaking the silence. Percy sighed. How could he possible explain? No one had mentioned the cause of Fred's death since his funeral. He didn't want to bring it up again now.

"I was there when it happened. I saw it with my own eyes. I couldn't do anything. If I would have stayed… none of this would have happened," Percy said trying to explain as best as he could. George instead of looking uncomfortable like he had for six months after the last battle when someone would mention Fred, looking relaxed. He even had a small smile on his lips.

"Even if you would have stayed, he still would have fought. He knew what was right and he wouldn't be stopped until that prevailed. We knew it was dangerous. We didn't fight because of you. We fought because we had to." George concluded.

"Percy, I want you to believe it. No one blames you. I don't, Mum doesn't, and Ginny doesn't. No one. Not even Fred," George said in a steady voice. Percy choked up at these words. He knew it was George was speaking to him, but he felt as just then Fred himself had forgiven him. For the first time in four years he felt completely peaceful with himself. He wiped away the tears before anyone else could see them.

"I'm sorry I ruined the happy moment," Percy said in an unnaturally deep voice. "Do you think they'll remember?"

"Oh don't worry. I got it all on camera," George said smiling devilishly holding up a muggle video camera.

Percy arrived at Shell Cottage a few days later to find only Fleur and small Victoire at the house.

"Bill vent to ze store. 'E will be back soon," Fleur said as cooked dinner. Victoire looked up from where she stood at her mother's legs. Her gaze met with Percy's and she looked away shyly. Some days she would hug Percy when he walked through the door and other days she would hide in her room the whole visit. This day seemed to be the latter.

"Hi, Victoire. I got you something." He told her awkwardly. He never knew how to talk to his niece, especially not when Fleur was staring at him like that. Victoire walked over to her uncle with outstretched hands.

"Uncle Percy. I want to see!" She squealed. Sometimes it even surprised Fleur how easily her daughter picked up talking. She didn't have an accent so Fleur thought that Bill had secretly been teaching Victoire how to speak when she wasn't looking. She expressed this to anybody she could get to listen. Percy thought she was just brilliant.

He handed her the small string necklace he found while browsing Diagon Alley. Although he knew he paid the street peddler too much, he bought the small charm with his niece in mind. It was black string with a small charm in the shape of a flower. He gently did the clasp on the little girl's slender neck. "Thank you!" She giggled. She leaned in and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Percy blushed. He had always thought there was some rift between the two of them.

But now as he looked into Victoire's eyes that were filled with adoration, he realized that they were in fact very close. He left Shell Cottage that day with a smile on his face. He had done it. He had closed the gap he had always wanted to fill. He no longer had to stay away, there was no need to be proud. Let bygones be bygones! He was sure he would make James adore him as he had with Victoire. He would make sure he was loved. He could choose his own future from now on.


	3. First Date

Disclaimer: Not mine!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews... all three of them... Please review, it will help me a lot in these coming chapters. :)

* * *

It seemed the only day that Audrey's missing presence didn't cross Percy's mind was the day she appeared. The warm spring air had turned into hot humid air as the days passed quickly. As the temperatures reached the 100's, Percy was unusually moody. He hated summer. How was he to comfortably wear dress robes to work when he suffocated between the heavy layers?

Several charms had been put around the offices trying to make the stuffy office cooler. This resulted into to 3 frostbite cases and one person had actually managed to freeze himself completely. The burden of this lay on Percy. His glasses, which he had gotten recently fixed, kept slipping down his nose due to sweat. Today he just didn't feel like working. Of course he did though, how could he not? He just wanted to go home and sit in front of a fan with an ice pop. Of course he had cast and re-cast the Cooling Charm in his office yet it wore off much too quickly.

There came a brisk knock on the door, scaring the life out of Percy. Because of these loud raspy knocks, he jumped and his ink spilled all over the parchment he'd spent an hour working on. Of course he could just say an incantation and clean that mess write off, but that was much to easy. He felt anger bubble up at his unknown visitor.

"What?" Percy growled. The door opened slowly and instead of where he expected to see Neil, he found a bodacious brunette. She smiled weakly at him as Percy stared in shock. The stayed like this for some seconds until finally Percy realized he had very obviously been looking at her. Instead of conservative clothes like the rest of the office wore, she was dressed in short jean shorts and a skimpy black tank top. It was too much for Percy to take.

"Don't tell me… there's someone having sex in the supply closet?" He murmured to himself and to his surprise Audrey laughed. She smiled, and with the awkward moment past, bounded over to his desk.

"It's been awhile!" She said as if talking to an old friend. "Usually I only come for a week in the summer but I wanted to see you earlier than that and now I'm spending the whole summer here. In the magic world that is," Percy just stared. Had she said that she, this goddess of beauty, wanted to see him?

"Oh… That's good, I think," Percy said lamely as he felt a wave of happiness rise in his chest.

"Let's get ice crea- ah!" She said and her voice went up at the end making it into a shriek. Her eyes were filled with terror. She seemed to be staring at something past Percy's shoulder. He quickly flipped his chair around expecting the reincarnation of the Dark Lord himself, swiveling the chair to its breaking point. Not calculating the speed and weight of himself, Percy flew from the chair and landed on the floor. He received no chuckle but an 'Eeep!' from Audrey's direction. He blushed a deep red at the same time as looking quizzically at the blank wall in which Audrey was staring at in horror.

"What is it?" He said looking around frantically.

"Spider!" She breathed. Her face, tan from the summer heat, had grown a sickly white. It took all of Percy's reserve not to laugh out loud as he spotter the measly spider on the wall. He took off his shoe, careful not to make any sudden movements and gazed over to Audrey with a smug smile on his face. Now she would say that he was dashing and they should be married at nightfall, he thought.

The spider, seeming to sense that death was near, started to crawl in an attempted circle. Percy quickly lowered his shoe and smashed the spider dead. It's mangled body only brought fragments of the Battle of Hogwarts memory to the surface. The sight of death was too close and he suddenly felt guilty. He turned to Audrey with his stomach churning uneasily, as if he'd eaten too much, and gave her a weak smile. The regret he felt suddenly vanished when he Audrey's relieved expression.

"Better?" He said and smiled at the thought that Audrey's face that returned to its normal color. She nodded weakly and looked over at him in adoration, the kind of adoration Ginny used to look up to him with. "My brother is deathly is afraid of spiders too. He wouldn't even go to the basement as a kid, he'd make me come with." Percy chuckled at the memory of Ron's face when he spied a spider in the basement. Audrey however didn't get the humor. She took a few deep breaths before she spoke again, this time with much more conviction.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to get ice cream. It's almost lunchtime anyway." She smiled and before he had time to protest grabbed his hand and apparated.

When they arrived again in the unfamiliar muggle world, after regaining the feeling in his body, Percy tried to take back his hand. He obstinately tried to pull away only to have Audrey squeeze her grip tighter still. He looked over at her in shock, his eyebrows shooting up in shock. The fact they were holding hands must mean something!

Audrey smiled shyly at him and Percy suddenly felt sick. When he had been together Penelope the most they had ever done was hold hands and even then he had been the one to initiate it. The warm and strange feeling that welled up in his chest as he looked at Audrey scared him. She must be joking with him. This was just some big joke to her, wasn't it? Percy felt utterly hurt and snatched his hand away with all his might. How could she have used him when he was just beginning to like her? Audrey gave him a pained expression but recovered quickly.

"I come here all the time," She ordered for both of them and insisted on paying. They picked out one of the cleaner tables and slipped into opposite sides of the booth.

"So, Weasley, tell me, you've already found out my biggest fear, what's yours?" She smiled. Percy couldn't help but stare at the small dribble of ice cream that dribbled down her chin. She tried to reach it with her tongue but the only thing that succeeded in doing was making Percy flustered.

"Here," He said rashly to cover his reaction. His picked up the napkin next to him and leaned over the table to wipe away the bit of ice cream. She looked up at him curiously while Percy blushed. He hadn't meant for it to be affectionate, he just wanted for her to stop moving her tongue in that particular fashion. Get back on subject, Percy thought quickly.

"Failure, I'm deathly afraid of failing. I'm getting better now though." He stuttered. Audrey seemed unsurprised. Had she read the book? She had read it, thought Percy bitterly. She already knew everything about everything. Of course, it all made sense now. "After reading the book though, you would understand," He said looking at his melting ice cream. He begged in his brain that she hadn't read the book; maybe being a part of the muggle world had somehow distanced herself greatly from the wizarding community.

"Oh yes, I've read it. Who hasn't read about the adventures of brave Ron Weasley?" She said finally and Percy felt his heart drop. The only reason she was talking to him was to meet Ron… it made sense after all. Nobody had woman had even given him since his graduation from Hogwarts.

"Oh," He said faltering. She took a deep breath, sounding suspiciously like a sigh.

"I get it though. I get why you left. I used to be like that too. But that's too sad to talk about now. We need to talk about you. What's you favorite color?" She said simply. She had changed the subject as if it was simple. Life was simple to her. The curiosity bit away at Percy but he didn't say anything. He hoped he would never say anything that could offend this woman.

Ice cream for lunch turned into to dinner plans. Audrey scratched down an address on a napkin. It was torn as she hurriedly wrote it, the words barley legible.

"Pick me up here. It's my apartment. It's a muggle neighborhood so act decent," She said smiling. She apparated away soon after as Percy stood lamely holding the napkin. What did it matter if he was almost 5 minutes over on his lunch break? It didn't at all. How was it that finally after all these years he'd found someone so compatible? They laughed and joked about bands that were mostly unheard of. They talked about there need to strive for perfection. A conversation ran through his mind. It wasn't particularly significant in anyway but the casual conversation just spoke to him.

"Did you go to Hogwarts? I didn't see you around," He said thinking back. She could have only been one or two years behind him.

"No, I went to Beauxbaton's. Mum went there when she was a child. She wasn't from France but her mother was and so the cycle continued. You might have seen my brother… He was a Ravenclaw. His name is Grant. He was a 7th year last year. He's going to Healing School to work in St. Mungo's. He's tall with a long nose. Our hair color's not the same but the family doctor always told my mum that we looked alike," She said suddenly excited. Percy scrunched his face in concentration. He couldn't remember anyone that fit that description.

Percy walked through the doors for the ministry and immediately he heard whispers.

"The Brother Who Left actually did leave for lunch… with a girl! He's never been out for lunch." He heard a witch with a long nose sneer.

"Way to go, Perce," Said a male colleague of his he only knew by face. He couldn't help the smile that crept to his face and reached his eyes. It was only when Percy reached his office again did he remember his bad mood. Although the fresh memories of Audrey were still on his mind, the heat was still unbearable. Percy sweated and grumbled as he worked, wishing only to be home. In those moments, although formerly thought impossible, Percy hated work. He hated the way he was sent to do tedious tasks that meant nothing to him. Who cared if the quidditch match was postponed? How did it relate to his branch of expertise anyway? He was International Magic Cooperation for Merlin's sake! He let out a sigh a relief as finally after staring at the clock for the past twenty minutes, the clock struck 5.

He didn't have any time he realized as he arrived home three minutes. There was no possible way to take a shower, get dressed and give himself a mental pep talk before 5:30 to pick up Audrey. He only had time to take a quick shower, tousle his red curls and pull on a pair of jeans and a dress shirt, skipping the pep talk altogether. He arrived at the address sometime later. He curiously walked to the elevator examining it curiously. He could always take the stairs, he thought, but it was just too tempting.

"DING!" The elevator said as it arrived. Percy jumped a foot and boarded the cramped room. Why were the doors closing? They didn't close like that in the Ministry! He bounded over to the doors and pounded on them as he felt the elevator groan to life. He finally relaxed waiting for the floor to come. Eventually he did reach his stop and he got off with the sense of feeling airborne. Whether it was from the elevator or because he was going on a date with Audrey he wasn't sure. He rang the small on the door. It opened suddenly as if she had been waiting by the door. In fact it looked exactly as if she'd been waiting by the door.

"Hey handsome," She said shooing him outside so quickly that he hadn't even got a glimpse of her apartment at all. Was she hiding a hippogriff or something in there, he thought to himself and giggled at the idea.

"Hiding something?" Percy said trying to stop smiling.

"Only the bodies of people who asked me that same exact question," She said beaming back. Then finally he was able to see her fully. She was wearing a pretty cotton blue dress that hugged her curved perfectly and she had tried to straighten her hair but Percy noticed the curls that poked up at her hairline. He absent-mindedly put a hand up to touch the little curl the fell just above her right eye. He quickly pushed his hand backed down when he realized his hand was half way there, moving on it's own accord. Audrey looked shocked and yet at the same time a little pleased. You're just friends, Percy told himself. Don't get your hopes up.

"I didn't plan anything out really… I bet there's a place open or something. What do you want to do?" Percy said awkwardly trying to cover up his mistake.

"I know this perfect little barbeque place. Just hold on tight," Audrey said sticking out her hand.

Percy didn't understand why things went so smoothly. In fact… it was almost like a date. They talked and flirted over barbeque and Percy even managed to pay for the both of them without offending Audrey that much. They laughed and joked, and it was perfectly pleasant.

"Is this a date?" He blurted out before he could stop himself. He blushed red thankful for the low lighting. Great, he thought, now he had gone in ruined it. Now Audrey would never talk to him again and it was his entire fault. 4 words would destroy their entire imaginary relationship.

"I don't know…" She started, her eyes revealing nothing, and trailed off. "I mean I thought it was a date, but it'll have to be mutual. I mean from you." Percy's eyes, which rested on the table, suddenly shot up to meet Audrey's.

"Yes! Yes! I would love it to be a date!" He said overenthusiastically. Audrey smiled at him but made no movement. Percy's smile slipped a little when reality set in. "…I just don't understand… why me?" Percy said confusedly after awhile, the doubt seeping in slowly. Audrey stared at him for some moments before answering.

"Well Percy, I should be asking you the same thing. Why me? What do we share that makes us the same? Well that of course is obvious. Tragedy and humiliation, we've both suffered. I don't know. Maybe it's pure sexual attraction? Percy… you're kind of cute. Plus you're funny. We like the same things. Look Percy, just because we go on one date doesn't mean I have all the answers, we'll figure that out later. All I know is I want to see more of you." Audrey said while sipping up the last of her drink. Percy looked around widely. How was she talking to? Was there another Percy on the premises? Surely she couldn't be talking to him. He pointed to himself at last and mouthed the words "me?" Audrey laughed a nodded. Then in that moment Percy realized that, even though Audrey could have no inkling of his true feelings, he was in love with Audrey. Of course as the three little words popped into his head he reprimanded himself. He couldn't fall in love with a woman on their first date! How immature! Love took years to develop. Later that night Percy even laughed himself to sleep thinking about how silly he was.

They walked out of the restaurant staying their fair share apart. Should he hold her hand? Percy mulled over in his mind the different possibilities of the outcome him reaching for her hand. The only situations he could think of ended up with him getting slapped. Maybe he should-

"I had a good time. I'll owl you." Audrey said finally. Percy realized they had been walking to nowhere in particular just following the curves of the road, Audrey being nice enough not to interrupt Percy's concentration. Wait? Wouldn't a person say that when they didn't want to see you again? He looked down to meet her eyes. She was so small, nothing in comparison to his 6' 5". Audrey looked up into his eyes and got a fairly dreamy look.

"I guess I'll see you…" Percy said lamely. He opened his mouth to speak again but Audrey had different ideas. Before he could realize what she was doing, the beautiful woman he had met only two months ago had crushed his lips onto his own. How was it that the woman that he'd only met a few times gave him one of the most passionate kisses he had ever received in his whole life?

After a few seconds, Percy got himself together and began to react. Placing his hand on the back of her brown hair he pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck. How was she holding her breath that long? Percy thought breathing heavily as they broke away. Percy beamed. There was no mistaking she meant to do that! Audrey shared a similar smile but her eyes were unreadable.

Wait… was she drunk? No! She had only drunk iced tea! But maybe they slipped something in there to make her lose touch with her sense of right and wrong, Percy contemplated. He turned to ask Audrey what these chances were but when he caught sight of her eyes. A look he'd only seen once, when catching his mother look at his father one late night, crossed her eyes, and knew he had not mistaken her intentions.

"I guess… I'll see you later," Audrey said with a smile and disappeared with a pop. He stared at where she had stood, basking in the moment. And for the first time in his life Percy felt like singing.


	4. Official

Everywhere he went he was always reminded of Audrey. Shell Cottage, which Percy originally thought was a safe home, now crept with unwanted thoughts. The clock on the wall reminded him of a funny story Audrey had told. The wood floors spoke to him as he crossed over them; Audrey liked the dark wood better. He sat down in a recliner opposite of his older brother who sat with a magazine in his hands. Victoire came up and plopped herself down on her uncle's leg and looked at him expectantly.

"Uncle Percy, will you read me this," She said handing him a book. He recognized the cover immediately; the sleeping princess on the front was a dead giveaway. Sleeping Beauty. Percy sucked in his breath and looked around at Bill and Fleur who seemed unconcerned.

"This is Audrey's favorite book. I told her how unrealistic it was. All fairy tales are unrealistic. But she had the nerve to point out that maybe if the princess indirectly looked at a basilisk she would be paralyzed like that. She's insane, I told her," Percy said laughing as Bill looked on in shock. He had never heard Percy talk about anyone from work, let alone a girl.

"Who ez theez Audrey?" Fleur said with an excited grin. Percy immediately realized his mistake. Speaking aloud about his relationship with Audrey would make it too real. He himself did not know what he and Audrey were doing. For the past 3 nights since their first "date", they had eaten out together almost every night. They hadn't kissed again even though Percy had wanted too. Audrey made no advances which Percy took as rejection. But for now just looking at Audrey now was enough. His mouth got dry and his heart started pumping rapidly when he spied her.

"Oh she's just someone I met at work. Though she doesn't really work there," Percy said laughing at the memory. He tried to hide the smile that he knew he got whenever he talked about Audrey but it was impossible. He wondered if Audrey did the same thing. Did she get red in the face when she talked about him? Did she even talk about him? Bill chuckled recognizing his brother's symptoms. Victoire, not used to being ignored, shoved the book towards Percy's face again.

* * *

_Dinner tonight? Pick me up at 8._

Was all the note read. Percy stared at it for sometime. He knew what he had to do today although he dreaded it. He was going to ask her, the one question that changes a relationship forever.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Percy said strutting in front of the mirror. The owl that rested on his desk hooted joyfully. "Thanks Scotch, but it's not your opinion that matters," Percy said smiling through his nerves. He had it all planned out. He would arrive at 8, she would invite him in for tea, they would talk and Percy would say something witty and in the middle of a kiss he would say the fated words. She would joyfully say yes and wrap her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. The daydream even made him drool. They hadn't had any physical contact at all for the past 4 days, the only thing they did was talk. Talking was good since they were both so compatible, but sometimes all Percy wanted her lips pressed against his. A loud thump on apartment window brought him back to reality. He immediately realized the owl outside his window as Pig and let him in. After Ron was given a new owl for helping George in the store, Pig became the family owl. Whatever could Mum want?

_Percy, dear, Bill tells me your engaged to be married, please tell me why you haven't told me sooner. Please send an owl quick or I'll floo over immediately._

He didn't understand. The letter didn't make any sense but judging by the large tearstains on the paper he could tell his Mum was pretty upset about it. He wrote back a quick message on the back of the same paper explaining that he didn't even have a girlfriend (yet) and he wasn't engaged in the least (yet). Of course he'd be lying if the thought hadn't crossed his mind. He sent Pig on his way and checked his clock. It was already 8:02. Shit.

Percy arrived at Audrey's door out of breath. He had run up the stairs and still managed to be five minutes late. The elevator, a usual friend, had disappointed him in his time in need, being out of order. He knocked on the door hurriedly. Audrey opened it quickly and shut it behind her quickly as she always did.

"You're not going to invite me in for tea?" Percy gasped not sounding half as suave as he sounded in his daydream.

"Um…" Audrey said refusing to meet his eyes. "It's not really clean. But I guess we could go in… If you really want to…" Her tone betrayed a tint of fright. Percy knew immediately why Audrey didn't want him to come inside as she held the door open for him. It was the spitting image of his apartment. Of course their models were different, but they were had the same decor. They both had bare walls. Nothing in sight was personal; there was no proof that a human even lived there. Audrey had placed one fold out chair in front of a screen Percy recognized as a TV. Audrey disappeared into the kitchen to get the tea.

"How long have you been living here?" Percy yelled towards the kitchen, inspecting the guest bathroom that looks like it had never been touched.

"Oh you know… Four years," Audrey said nonchalant. Percy heard the kettle whistle and he stood awkwardly next to the lone chair. She came in levitating the two cups and placing them on the now materialized coffee table. The chair magically duplicated itself and Percy unwillingly sank into the red fabric. The chair, as he suspected, lacked support. He reminded himself to set up an appointment with his chiropractor. "You wanted to see it right? Beautiful, huh?" Audrey said sarcastically. Percy grinned but those four words kept repeating in his mind. What were they again? Was it 'Will you go out with me'? No, that wasn't it. Merlin, it wasn't even four words! They stayed silent as Percy mulled over his thoughts. Audrey seemed quite contented with the silence and smiled a small and unnoticeable smile to herself.

"Maybe we should get going," Percy said, resolved that he wouldn't be able to ask her today. He'd have to do it some other time when he had more rehearsal time. When Percy stood up to leave Audrey stayed sitting down. Percy looked over at her. She seemed to be wearing the same expression he was moments earlier.

"Percy…" Audrey started. Her tone wasn't light and sarcastic like it was before, this time it seemed to take on a serious tone. Percy looked at her shocked. This was the first time she had said anything to him not dripping with sarcasm and enthusiasm. "We're dating right?" Her eyes looked up hopefully with a tinge of pride. He could see the hope rolling off of her in waves.

"I was going to ask you-" Percy started but was cut off.

"I need to know if we're dating Percy. I want to snog the daylights out of you right now and I want to know if it's official. Yes or no," Audrey said. Percy watched her face for signs of sarcasm but none appeared. Was she serious?

"Yes," Percy said softly afraid he was making a fool of himself for responding to her joke. Even before he said it, Audrey was flying out of her chair. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. The hypothesis that Audrey was joking quickly dematerialized. Compared to the last time they kissed, this was nothing. The heat between them quickly escaladed, rivaling the humid summer temperatures outside. The tongues intertwined and all doubts were erased from Percy's mind. It didn't matter if she was using him… as long as she made him feel like this. She ran her hands through his red curls while he pressed his hand on her hips. Slowly she pulled away. Why was she pulling away? Percy thought dazedly.

"I think you should meet my fam-" Audrey started slowly.

"Sure sure," He said rushed and tried to pull her lips closer to his but she pulled away.

"I want to meet your family too," Audrey said already giving in and pressing her lips to his again.

* * *

Why was he leaving her house? Why couldn't he just stay there all night and hold her and kiss her? When he reached his home he heard stomach grumble. They had forgotten to eat dinner.

Of course putting a name on their relationship didn't do much to affect how they acted around each other. Audrey would come like usual to lunch. The only difference now was instead of eating, they spent half an hour snogging and the other half chatting. They were like excited schoolgirls when they finally began breathing normally and decided to talk. They had both decided that "Hippogriff's Beak" was the best band ever and talked furiously about them. They chatted pleasantly about everything under the sun while keeping the usual sarcastic banter. It was a usual Wednesday a week after they became official. Of course they hadn't told anyone, what would be the fun in that? Instead they liked to sneak around. Who they were sneaking from and why Merlin only knew. It could be there families there were hiding from Audrey pointed out in the supply room as Percy explored her mouth.

Audrey bounded into the room and set down her sack lunch. They were way past knocking now. She kicked the door shut with her foot and smiled.

"Hey," She said simply as she closed in on him. Their mouths met obligingly. All of the doubts Percy had had before mattered very little when the kissed. When they kissed it was just…mutual happiness. The mouths talked in a silent conversation for some minutes until Percy slowly began walking towards the wall, pulling Audrey along with him. The wall made a weird coughing sound as he slammed into in to it, bringing Audrey along for the ride. With Percy's back to the wall, Audrey was get even closer… maybe even closer than humanly possible. She hooked a leg over his and kissed him deeper still. The wall made the same noise again as Percy was thrust back by Audrey. He would have to get that checked out, he mentally reminded himself. His arms roamed up and down her back, rubbing in circular patterns. Audrey gave out a tiny sigh. There it was again! The same coughing sound! He was getting annoyed, way to ruin the moment. He broke away from Audrey and set her down fully intent on looking at the wall. He would have to call someone to look at it as soon as possible. As she was lowered to the ground, Percy got a glance over the top of her head. His face was suddenly redder than humanly possible in a burst of color. He bordered on purple.

"Percy, what's wrong?" Audrey asked concerned. He had looked like this once before when he had held his breath too long. "I told you, you can breathe out of your nose if it gets that bad," Audrey said turning around. But Percy's face was not red due to lack of oxygen, instead staring at them with a similar shade of red on his face was Arthur Weasley. He had coughed, Percy though solemnly. He thought it was the wall! How could he have been so stupid? Audrey stayed silent and she patted down her curls. She tried to nonchalantly untwist her shirt but only ended up with more attention coming her way.

"Dad… this is Audrey." Percy said, his voice cracking after a while. They shook hands politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Audrey said with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"I was just going to ask if Percy wanted to have lunch with me… but it looks as if he's already busy," Mr. Weasley said simply and rigidly stalked from the room. Percy stared after his father for some seconds before finally running to catch him. When finally he found his father waiting for an elevator, he was able to stop running.

"Don't tell Mum?" Percy pleaded. Though still thoroughly embarrassed, he would rather be mortified then have to deal with the wrath of his mother.

"I don't know Percy. That's a pretty big secret. Good for you though, son. Bring her to dinner soon or it might just slip." Mr. Weasley said as an empty elevator arrived. "One more thing," He said gruffly. "You're using protection right?" Both of their faces were bordering on purple now.

"Dad!" Percy said in complaint, which was a good enough answer for his dad. Protection? But that would mean… He blushed a deeper red if possible. He returned to his office to find a teary Audrey.

"Does your dad think I'm a whore?" She said with a sob. The tears that rolled down her cheeks were her first sign of weakness to show to Percy. He felt as if being able to see her cry was like breaking down one brick of many to win over her heart.

"No, why would he think that?" Percy started softly. "Because we were kissing? He could care less. Don't be upset," He said pulling her into a hug as he reached the chair. Audrey let out a few more heartbreaking sobs before she suddenly stopped.

"I feel stupid, crying over nothing," She said wiping her eyes and her nose. Percy knew there must have been a big wet spot on his shoulder but he didn't care. Just as long as Audrey was all right, that was all that mattered. He looked at her now swollen eyes, red blotches checkered her usually tan face. She was beautiful, Percy thought. He knew that being able to see her cry he had taken down a barrier. What barrier he didn't know, but still the feeling was exhilarating.

"Um… Audrey, do you want to come over to my Mum's house for dinner tomorrow night?" Percy said shyly. Audrey looked up at him with glazed eyes.

"I… that would be nice," She said finishing quietly. It took only seconds before there lips met again.


	5. Meet the Weasleys

Meet the Weasleys

"We've only been dating a week and a half. I don't see why I have to-"

"Audrey, you said you would! Besides my mother would burn me at the stake if I didn't bring you home," Percy said exasperatedly. They had already been over this… several times in fact. Percy realized after about the fourth time she protested, that when Audrey was nervous she was downright disagreeable. She had even admitted it.

"It's not my fault when I get nervous I don't want to the thing in question. Everyone's that way!" She said earlier that day. It took all the strength Percy had not to yell at her. His day was already going bad enough, after losing a deal with Ireland's quidditch team he still had to go over to his mother's to be harassed. He could already see George's face, staring at him mockingly. Oh no, instead of the quiet meal with his parents he had been planning when Percy mentioned he was bringing a girl over, his mother immediately invited everyone. Ginny, Harry, James, Fleur, Bill, Victoire, Hermione, Ron, George, Charlie, his mum and his dad were all there to scare the shit out of Audrey.

"_Good thing Charlie got the week off and he's coming down here."_ His mother wrote him, _"Ginny and Harry were going to go on vacation starting today but they postponed it. Fleur said that she had an important announcement to make so it'll all work out. I bet you that I'm going to be a grandma for the third time over soon. I think Ron'll have a few things to say as well. He went up to your father a week ago and asked for my wedding rings! He didn't understand that I would have to be dead for him to do that. Your father and I laughed so hard over that. That silly boy."_ The letter went on and babbled for a few more paragraphs before ending.

"Who's the part-Veela, she's Bill's wife?" Percy quizzed as they walked up to the porch. He felt bad for the twinge of disappointment that he felt when he took a look at the disorganized house. Audrey's house was probably a palace compared to this shack, and they hadn't even weeded the garden!

"Fleur," Audrey said rather smugly. "I told you! I read the autobiography. I know who everyone is." He was grateful that Audrey only had one sibling. It would be so much easier when he visited over there. Molly opened the door for her son. She stood on the step, slightly disheveled with a few gray streaks in her orange hair, with a beaming smile. She looked at Audrey for some seconds before embracing her in a hug.

"You must be Audrey. Your so beautiful!" Molly said as she moved aside to let them inside. The inside was the same as he remembered it. He hadn't been there for two weeks and the usual scent of honey and heat filled his nose.

"Well, actually Audrey's sick so I was hired to fill in for her," Audrey said rolling her eyes and joking. Molly however didn't get it. She stared blankly at her for some seconds as Percy and Audrey laughed. Molly didn't have time to question because at that moment Mr. Weasley appeared.

"Wow! Audrey, it's nice to see you when my son's hands aren't all over you!" He said uncharacteristically sarcastic. Audrey and Percy turned red while Molly whipped to look at him.

"What?" She said making sure she heard him correctly. Arthur realized his mistake and quickly tried to recover.

"A joke!" He said putting his hands up in a defensive manner. Audrey laughed but she was the only one. The awkward moment had passed thankfully as Ron bounded into the kitchen, hands linked with Hermione.

"Percy! You're finally here. Hermione was about to start talking books with me and I was begging for you to arrive," Ron said laughing. He finally noticed Audrey and did a double take. That's right. Percy thought smugly, she's all mine. Audrey slapped his shoulder obviously guessing what he was thinking.

"This is Audrey, my girlfriend," He said loudly pronouncing the last word.

"Whose girlfriend?" Ginny said appearing carrying tiny James in her arms. He had grown since spring and now at 4 months, opened his eyes wide and smiled at his uncle. Percy smiled back at the small child and before answering Ginny's question, scooped his nephew from her arms. Ginny shrugged. "You hold him, you change him," She said sticking her tongue out at him. "You must be the girlfriend. I'm Ginny." Audrey shook Ginny's hand obligingly.

"I'm Audrey. The Girlfriend," She said rolling her eyes. Ginny laughed at her lame attempt at humor, from that moment on they were friends.

"Charlie plus Bill's brood are in the other room. We're only waiting on George now to eat," She explained. Percy felt greatly relieved at the absence of his younger brother. Although he was two years older he felt intimidated by his younger siblings, especially Fred when he was alive and now George. Since George and Fred learned to talk they had always teased their older brother. Percy didn't know if they ever knew how sometimes their jokes had made him cry in the bathroom with the tap water running so no one could hear.

"This is Harry," Ginny said to Audrey introducing her husband. "There's Bill, Fleur and their Victoire. This is Charlie, usually he's in Romania but he's visiting now." Audrey shook their hands in consecutive order. They smiled at her and she looked happily upon them.

"I've heard a lot about you," Bill said smiling at some secret joke. Audrey blushed not understanding why he was smiling like that. She caught her eyes drifting to Fleur. Percy wasn't exaggerating about her beauty. Her blonde hair fell in perfect waves compared to her own crazy curls. She smoothed down her hair in intimidation.

"Actually I've heard quite a bit about all of you. Percy's been quizzing on names since he invited me over," Audrey said with a laugh. Percy came over holding little James in her arms.

"Your not supposed to tell them that," He said with a smile. "Hey Bill. Charlie. Fleur. Victoire, come and give me a hug," The three year old ran over to her uncle obligingly.

"Any presents?" Victoire asked eagerly. Percy shook his head.

"Sorry, no presents this time. Maybe next time if you're a good girl," He winked at Fleur knowingly. She shook her head.

"Buying out your niece, are you now?" Audrey said as she passed him. Percy roared with laughter and stared at her back as she walked away. Just as Percy was getting comfortable on the couch next to his second favorite brother, the doorbell rang. In walked George, but who was that on his arm? It couldn't be-?

"Angelina!" Ginny screamed and wrapped the tall girl in a hug. Angelina smiled warmly.

"I hope I'm not intruding," she said in Molly's direction.

"Of course not dear!" Molly said. "Everyone! Sit down at the table!" She yelled relieved that at last they could eat. Everyone rushed to the table in record time. Percy couldn't help but think 'last one to the table is a rotten egg.' He handed James over to his mother and slipped down beside Audrey. He took her hand under the table and smiled widely. Audrey smiled back. Hermione was the rotten egg, Percy thought smiling to himself.

"Who's this?" George asked Percy looking over Audrey who sat in front of him.

"This is Audrey," Audrey said answering for herself.

"Mum did you have another child I didn't know about?" George asked his mother with a straight face. The table chuckled.

"Give it some time and she may be your sister in law," Molly said joyfully. Percy suddenly went rigid. The lemonade he had been about to swallow came out in a huge spit take landing all over Ron.

"Percy!" He yelled in anger.

"Mum!" Percy said at the same time in embarrassment. Audrey's face matched the red tablecloth. Ron disgustingly wiped himself off shooting daggers at his brother. If looks could kill he would have been dead long ago.

"Speaking of marriage… Hermione and I have something to say-" Ron started with a red face he stood up from where he sat. Fleur however would have nothing of this and stood up herself.

"Speaking of zee babies… Bill and I have an announcement to make," Fleur said suddenly. Ron didn't know what the make of this and just stared at his sister in law. Hermione however was not used to losing. She stood up next to Ron and stared Fleur down.

"I believe Ron was saying something-" She started but was cut off when Bill stood up next to his wife.

"Well, I believe Fleur was saying something, something we've been planning for the past three months, while yours must have been very recent." Bill said menacingly. The scars on his face seemed to make Ron squirm.

"Why don't you say it at the same time?" Audrey piped in with the wave of a hand. George stared at her in amazement, as did the rest of the table. Percy seemed to bubble up with pride at the fact that his lover was such a good problem solver. They didn't seem to get what she was saying.

"3…2…1…go!" She yelled while waving her hand.

"I am 'aving zee baby,"  
"Hermione and I are getting married," Both Ron and Fleur spit out at once.

"Problem solved," Audrey said nonchalantly sipping more lemonade. They all sat back down. The table bursts into rounds of congratulations. No one could say they were surprised much though and Mum couldn't even muster up that much enthusiasm.

"You had already asked your father," She said to Ron when he sulked the kitchen afterward.

"Audrey, dear, how did you two meet?" His mother asked politely when conversation slowed. Audrey smiled at the memory.

"Oh it's quite a funny story. Not appropriate for smaller ears though," She said nodding towards James and Victoire. Molly however didn't know what to make of this while George laughed loudly. "He's so adorable. How old is he?" Audrey asked talking to Ginny now. She looked at little James with a smile on her face and Percy's ears perked up. She liked kids! He smiled to himself already planning the names of their future children.

"Only four months," Ginny said smiling and facing James towards Audrey. The baby smiled proudly. Audrey smiled back and Percy's heart leapt for joy.

"He looks just like his father," Audrey said nodding at Harry. Harry looked around from his conversation and smiled at his wife. Ginny smiled back and suddenly Percy looked away guiltily. He didn't need to see the look they shared, especially if it was his baby sister giving that look. Of course it wasn't sexual, after all Harry couldn't really expect to live after doing any sort of innuendo with Ginny's five living brothers. It was just a look, filled with so much knowing and experience. Just the love shared between one look made Percy weary. How could he ever live up to that?

The conversation flowed easily in the Weasley household. Between wedding plans, baby plans and just plain plans there was little pause. One big conversation branched off into smaller conversations, which branched of to only pairs.

"What do you think?" Percy said once Charlie had turned his attention to Ginny. He turned to Audrey eagerly awaiting her views.

"They're… friendly. Loud. My family is much quieter," Audrey said laughing. Percy was reminded immediately of tinkling bells. He felt as light as air now. His family had accepted his girlfriend and vice versa. Girlfriend. The thought made him smile and just saying it out loud made him prouder than he'd ever been before.

"Aunt Audrey?" Said Victoire, bored with talk of politics and "grown up matters", turning to Audrey. Audrey seemed surprised by her new nickname and definitely pleased with the fact she was already accepted into the family.

"Yes?" Audrey said turning to look at the blonde little girl. With blonde tendrils to frame her blue eyes, she was by far as beautiful, if not more beautiful than her mother. But since the chocolate cake had been served for dessert a brown mustache and beard ensemble covered her mouth. The look was very comical and Audrey had to cough loudly to cover a laugh.

"Where do babies come from?" Victoire asked in a bored voice. She pointed towards her mother and all conversation around the table faded away to listen to the small girl. Audrey shifted uncomfortably when she realized that no one was offering to answer for her. Bill sat back with a smile on his face, which with the scar made him look menacingly scary.

"Um…" Audrey started unsure. Percy looked at his uncomfortable girlfriend and of course he felt the need to tease her.

"Oh Victoire, I'm sure Aunt Audrey will tell you all about where babies come from. Where do you think they come from, Aud?" Percy said mockingly. He smiled over to Audrey but instead of the usual smile that split across her face when he talked like this, she became red in the face and remained stony faced.

"The stork brings them of course," Audrey said simply, blushing even redder. Victoire shook her head, knowing fully it was a lie. Bill however caught on to the subdued mode and picked up Victoire.

"You can ask your mother all about that tomorrow, sweetheart. But for now, bed. We should get going, Thanks for dinner Mum!" Bill said already putting powder into the flames of the fire. Fleur got up and kissed Molly cheeks before following her husband and daughter.

The evening, subdued by the awkward question, ended quickly after. George and Angelina left next, and then the other dispersed like quick fire. Audrey answered only in one word sentence and barely said a word of goodbyes when they decided to leave. What had he done, Percy though with his eyebrows furrowed as he kissed his mother goodbye. He was just teasing! They teased all the time how was this any different? Maybe she just wasn't as warmed up to the family as he originally thought. He placed his hand into the sprinkles and through them into the flames. He glanced over at Audrey who looked like she had tears in her still red face. He did a double take shock. No, it was just the light, he thought relieved. The flames turned green and Audrey hoped in first yelling her own address. Why was she yelling her own address? Weren't they going back to his place? She didn't look back as she jump into the flames. Percy, thoroughly, confused yelled her address and followed Audrey.

"What? Just tell me what's wrong," He said concerned as he landed in her cramped fireplace. He crouched down and exited to find Audrey balled on the in her red chair, staring at the blank wall with and unreadable expression. She seemed to not have heard him. Percy stood awkwardly next to the fireplace suddenly remembering he hadn't asked if he could come in.

"You embarrassed me," Audrey spoke facing the wall after a pause. Percy jumped at the sound of her voice piercing through the silence.

"I didn't mean too," Percy said softly. He walked towards the chair but stopped short. She probably didn't want him to hold her anymore. Why'd he have to screw up? He always screwed up everything?

"I know it's just… I get embarrassed talking about things like that," Audrey said sighing. She held her face in her hands but still Percy could see that her ears were tinted red. He had never seen her this embarrassed! It took all of his will not to smile.

"I'm sorry I joked with you in front of my mother," Percy said resigning. Audrey's head peeked up from her hands and looked at him. He eyebrows were up and her mouth was puckered.

"I don't care about that. I'm talking about the subject matter you were joking about. S-E-X!" Audrey said waving her hands in the air. Now the roles were reversed. Percy's face was redder than the red of the chair and Audrey had a smug smile on her face. "It's embarrassing, isn't it? I know you probably didn't mean it like that, but the way you teased… it was just uncomfortable for me," She said simply. She had appeared already to forgive Percy, who stood of to the side, gaping not moving. His mouth was slightly agape. He hadn't heard anything from the moment onward from when she spelled sex. She couldn't be thinking about those things could she? Did she even know what that is? Percy himself barely knew. He reminded himself to look up some books about intercourse later. Audrey though was unfazed. Percy felt extremely lucky that she could not read minds.

"You want to have dinner tomorrow?" She said simply walking into the kitchen to look for cups for tea. She changed subjects fluidly as if their first thoughts that night in the apartment didn't matter.

"Uh… sure."


End file.
